Cardiovascular Disease Prevention: Lifestyle Interventions for Primary Prevention

The fact that up to one-third of the 800,000 yearly cardiovascular disease (CVD) deaths in the United States may be preventable by diet and physical activity makes a compelling case for lifestyle interventions as a primary prevention strategy. The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends offering or referring adults with CVD risk factors to behavioral counseling interventions to promote a healthy diet and physical activity. Although few US adults have ideal cardiovascular health, there exists a dose-response relationship whereby an increasing number of ideal cardiovascular health metrics is associated with lower CVD and all-cause mortality. The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet and the Mediterranean diet have proven benefits in reducing CVD. Among individuals without CVD, high levels of physical activity are associated with an approximately 32% reduced risk of CVD death, and moderate levels are associated with approximately a 22% reduction. Resistance exercises confer additional benefits.